Take full control of Finder's right-click menu on macOS.
English · 简体中文
MenuMate is a script-first, open-source (MIT) menu-bar app that lets you add your own right-click actions, manage the system menu items other tools can't touch, and install community “extension packs” — all without repeating permission prompts. Distributed as a Developer ID app (non-sandboxed main app + sandboxed Finder Sync extension); requires macOS 13 Ventura+. UI in English / 简体中文.
Most right-click tools on the Mac (右键超人 / MouseBoost / Service Station …) ship through the sandboxed App Store, so they can only manage menu items they inject themselves. MenuMate ships outside the sandbox (Developer ID), which unlocks things the sandbox makes structurally impossible:
| Capability | Sandboxed tools | MenuMate |
|---|---|---|
| Inject custom script actions | partial | ✓ script-first, fully configurable |
| Toggle system Quick Actions / Services | ✗ | ✓ via the pbs domain |
| Enable/disable third-party Finder extensions | ✗ | ✓ via pluginkit |
| Install community packs (any git repo) | ✗ | ✓ see the pack spec |
The core idea is script-first. Even the built-ins are editable zsh scripts — a preset is a factory script you can edit, delete, or restore at any time.
Every action is a zsh script (or an inline snippet, or “open with an app”). Give it a custom icon (SF Symbol + tint, or import your own image), and scope it to file types by ticking friendly categories (Images / Videos / Audio / PDF / Text / Source code / Archives / Apps) or entering raw UTIs.
One screen shows your menu exactly as it appears, with a “simulate target” switch (image / file / folder / empty area) so you see what really shows up. Items are grouped by how much MenuMate can control them: ● your own & pack actions (reorder, edit, toggle, delete), ◐ system Quick Actions & Services (hide), ○ third-party extensions (toggle).
Pick your default terminal and editor in General; the “Open in Terminal / Editor” presets honor your choice via injected env vars — no script changes needed.
Any conforming git repo is an extension pack. Import by URL; MenuMate clones it read-only, makes you review every script, and adds the actions disabled until you enable them. See the Extension Pack Specification and the example pack.
Full English / 简体中文 UI (String Catalogs — adding a language is just a translation column). And because the extension reads no files and there's no App Group container, MenuMate avoids the macOS 14/15 “wants to access data from other apps” nag; the few permissions it does need are requested once in onboarding.
Deliberately lean — only universal, gap-filling actions that every Mac user benefits from, with zero external assumptions. All use built-in macOS CLIs. View/edit under Settings › Context Menu; restore factory defaults under Settings › General.
| Script | Action | What it does |
|---|---|---|
copy-path.sh |
Copy Path | pbcopy, one path per line for multi-select |
new-file.sh |
New File | submenu of your template folder; cp + auto-numbered renames |
cut.sh / paste.sh |
Cut / Paste Here | move via a data-dir cutbuffer |
open-parent.sh / open-enclosing.sh |
Go Up One Level | navigate up in the current Finder window — or in a browser's upload dialog via ⌘↑ |
Specialized actions ship as optional extension packs (install via Extension Packs › Browse community packs) — they double as real examples of the pack ecosystem:
- Developer Pack — Open in Terminal / Editor (honors your default terminal/editor).
- Image Pack — Convert Image ▸ png/jpeg/heic/tiff.
- Navigation Pack — Go to Path… / Go to Clipboard Path (a Finder address bar).
Requirements: macOS 13+, Xcode 15+ (String Catalogs), Homebrew (for xcodegen).
make bootstrap # install xcodegen + copy the local signing config
make gen # project.yml → MenuMate.xcodeproj (git-ignored)
make test # run MenuMateCore unit tests
make build # Debug build
make run # build + launchThen enable the Finder extension (onboarding links you to System Settings, or
pluginkit -e use -i com.menumate.app.FinderExtension) and grant the one-time permissions.
A signed/notarized release build is produced by make release / the GitHub release workflow —
see docs/RELEASING.md.
Running an unsigned/ad-hoc local build: a
make build(or a dmg built without a Developer ID) isn't notarized, so Gatekeeper will block it. Either right-click the app → Open (then confirm), or clear the quarantine flag:xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /path/to/MenuMate.app.
Every script (preset or pack) is run under /bin/zsh with:
| variable / arg | meaning |
|---|---|
$1 … $n |
absolute paths of selected items (the container path for empty-area actions) |
MENUMATE_PATHS |
all paths, newline-separated |
MENUMATE_VARIANT |
the chosen submenu value (e.g. jpeg) |
MENUMATE_TEMPLATES / MENUMATE_DATA |
template & data directories |
MENUMATE_TERMINAL / MENUMATE_EDITOR |
your chosen default terminal / editor bundle id |
MENUMATE_SCRIPT |
this script's own absolute path (pack_root="${0:A:h}" to find sibling files/binaries) |
exit 0 |
success; first stdout line is the summary |
exit non-0 |
failure; stderr surfaced in “Recent Executions” + a notification |
| Target | What | Sandbox | Responsibility |
|---|---|---|---|
| MenuMate | SwiftUI menu-bar app (LSUIElement) |
No | config, action execution, system-menu management, packs |
| FinderExtension | FIFinderSync extension |
Yes | draw the menu, forward clicks |
| MenuMateCore | local Swift package | — | models, config codec, rule matching (unit-tested) |
The extension reads no files: the main app pushes a menu snapshot over
DistributedNotificationCenter (chunked). No App Group container — this is what eliminates the
repeating macOS permission prompts.
- Extension Pack Specification · example pack
- Contributing · Releasing
- Core unit tests (127) + preset-script tests + an App/extension compile check run in CI on every push (
.github/workflows/ci.yml).
- FinderSync dead zones:
/Applications, iCloud / File Provider directories don't trigger the extension (system behavior). - Injected items always appear at the bottom of the context menu (system limitation).
- Shortcuts-based Quick Actions can only be hidden (their state lives in a TCC-protected DB).
- Preset titles are localized at seed time; switching system language later won't re-translate already-stored titles (restore factory presets to re-seed).
MIT © 2026 Hibrielle